No toilet, no bride, says Ramesh

KOTA (Rajasthan): Days after he kicked up a row by stating that there are more temples than toilets in India, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh today urged women not to get married into families which do not have toilets in their homes.

"Don't get married in a house where there is no toilet," the Rural Development and Water and Sanitation Minister said while addressing locals, majority of whom were women, at Khajuri village near Kota and cited a slogan "No toilet, no bride".

"You consult the astrologers about rahu-ketu (planetary positions) to know about suitability of stars before getting married. You should also look whether there is a toilet at your groom's home before you decide to get married," he said.

Later Ramesh launched the third edition of Nirmal Bharat Yatra at Sangod, a small town, in Kota district.

Launching the Yatra, he also cited a slogan, "No toilet, no bride", coined by the Haryana government to promote sanitation there.